What's the laziest fix you've ever done that actually worked?
Posted by born_zynner@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 120 comments
Posted by born_zynner@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 120 comments
Carlos-In-Charge@reddit
Tapping the starter with a hammer.
mr5e1fd3struct@reddit
same thing works for the fuel pump lol just slap the tank a few times
Keyboard_Warrior98@reddit
Oh, I just know you drive a GM product
imothers@reddit
About 10 years ago, I was at a drive-in in a small town on Sunday afternoon. Another customer had a 60's Rambler that wouldn't't start. Neither of us had a hammer or any tools, so I hit the starter with a rock, and it worked.
gumby_twain@reddit
LPT: Just get a long stick or broom handle and you can hit most starters from the top. Source, I used to drive with a broom handle in my car because I couldn’t afford a new starter in college.
billamsterdam@reddit
I did that for a year once. Car was a pos that i didnt want to sink any more money in.
Heinz_Legend@reddit
Okay Fix It Felix.
Mrwrongthinker@reddit
Sometimes percussive maintenance is the answer. It's also fun!
born_zynner@reddit (OP)
Never had this one work personally
SkylineFTW97@reddit
When I did roadside assistance, I did that every other day. Except I didn't usually use a hammer, I used the handle from my floor jack, an adjustable wrench, or a ratchet. You know what they say: In a pinch, everything's a hammer.
Key_Effective_9664@reddit
Drove a BMW with a starting hammer for some months
Pit-Viper-13@reddit
Rear wiper and defroster stopped working in the Sequoia. Put the rear window down and back up. They started working again.
gumby_twain@reddit
Another one. Once had the primary cooling fan relay die on me at night far from home. Jumpered the fans to always on and drove home so I didn’t have to sweat overheating at a traffic light or anything.
gumby_twain@reddit
I had A SBC some years ago that refused to hold the alternator/WP v belt at high RPMs.
Solution, I cut the 2 inner tines of a fork, bent the handle 90’ and then slid the remaining tines under the ground bolt on the alternator bracket so that when the belt tried to ride out of the groove it couldn’t get high enough to jump.
There was probably something subtly off in the alignment of the brackets and WP. I worked on that thing enough, the easy fix was fine here. It caused some wear on the back of the v belt, but nothing extreme.
Affectionate_Mud4516@reddit
There’s a universal joint in the steering column on my beater truck that likes to bind up and make it real hard to steer. I keep a can of wd-40 in the cab and give it a spray every now and then.
NW_Forester@reddit
Zipties to get windshield whipers working. Lasted for like 2 years before I sold the car.
mista-666@reddit
Me and my friend were driving his 1992 ford escort across the country. When we left town the thing would barley go above 45 and my friend was really worried. We stopped at an autoparts store and I had like just learned about cars so I was asking him about spark plugs and basic maintence questions, we decided to try to change the spark plugs. I opened the hood and just pushed the spark plug wires down and that was the fix one of the boots had gotten loose. car ran like a champ after that
scottwax@reddit
Replacing an o-ring on my power steering pump hose connector. The part was $1 and it took less than 5 minutes..
Otherwise-Ad6675@reddit
Vicegrip on a brake hose zip tied in place got my car drivable for another week until i could get it somewhere to be fixed after the caliper threw a pad and deatroyed itself.
ChemistAdventurous84@reddit
I use needle nose vice grips with old school rubber fuel line on the tips to clamp rubber brake lines when removing calipers. If prevents the fluid from draining and makes subsequent bleeding quicker.
rscottyb86@reddit
Exhaust pipe developed a hole in lengthwise weld. I wrapped it with a coffee can and 2 clamps. Drove the car like that for 15 more years and sold it that way.
ChemistAdventurous84@reddit
Second only to wire hanger for cruse but effective exhaust fixes.
OkTemperature8170@reddit
Stuffing JB weld into a blown freeze plug. Lasted until I traded the car. Was a Geo Metro so par for the course with that car lol.
ChemistAdventurous84@reddit
I’m flashing to the original Red Dawn.
RumpIeforeskin@reddit
The radiator in my ranger is roughly 15% jb weld hi heat.
LurpyGeek@reddit
The JB Weld was the strongest part of the car.
FlyingDutchman9977@reddit
Probably having an exhaust hanging from a coat hanger
FrankCostanzaJr@reddit
probably the most iconic quick fix for cars in history. everyone that knows how to turn a wrench has done this at some point.
shoutout to coat hangers being so freaking useful.
AdEastern9303@reddit
In the day and age of plastic hangers, my kids laugh at me because every time I see a wire hanger, I snag it and hoard it.
FrankCostanzaJr@reddit
haha good call. i forgot about that. its kinda hard to find wire hangers these days.
i may have to order some from amazon before they go extinct
ChemistAdventurous84@reddit
Dry clean a shirt.
Project_IGNYTE@reddit
Same, but with a spring, lasted long enough to find another non-rusted muffler for a 91 Alfa Romeo Spider at a swap meet
born_zynner@reddit (OP)
I live in Idaho, have to save the coat hangers for unexpected pregnancies
FlyingDutchman9977@reddit
Coat hangers are really the perfect tool for when you can't afford to take care of something expensive the right way
bandley3@reddit
There is nothing more permanent than a temporary solution.
Back in 2014 I drive through some massive flooding on the freeway and flooded my horn. I didn’t want to pull the front bumper to properly replace the horn for an upcoming safety inspection so I picked up something at the junkyard and mounted it up high in the engine compartment, running a jumper wire down to the factory horn connector. 11 years later and that temporary fix is still in place and working just fine.
I still need to pull that bumper to fix a hole caused by some jackass backing into me with his trailer hitch (yay street parking!) Instead of looking at the white foam behind the bumper cover I gave it a shot of black paint so it blends in. I’ll properly repair that when I get around to fixing the horn.
dwcanker@reddit
81 plymouth horizan. Power steering rack leaked almost as fast as you could pour fluid into the pump. Cut the power steering belt problem fixed.
DoubleResponsible276@reddit
My friend had air coming out of his tire when he arrived to work. I always tease him about not having a spare and today was the day my joke came true.
He whipped out some bubble gum and duct tape, filled it up and managed to get home some 14 miles away. We got out of work at like 2 am so it was not possible for him to get a spare at that time, and he didn’t feel like getting his truck towed when he lives across a tire center.
billamsterdam@reddit
Cut a piece of bike innertube and clamped it over a busted pipe. I was shocked it worked without leaking. Told myself i would fix it if it ever started leaking. Was still good three years later when i moved out of that house.
babybird87@reddit
it was cold .. radiator leaking… put in a vile of stop and it worked…. Amazing
DarkFlareGames@reddit
Taping the exhaust shield so it would stop rattling. Never heard it again
cubiccapacity@reddit
Car was making a suspension noise so I went down to remove and retighten the sagging top end of one single sway bar link. No more sound unless going through an excessively bumpy surface
mandatoryclutchpedal@reddit
VW gti fuel line rattle. Velcro, foam block from a package. Rattle free for 4 years
YouWillHaveThat@reddit
Vice grips on the rear brake line.
Bought it that way, drove it for 2 years, sold it that way.
CraftEmpire@reddit
A rubber hose got a hole burnt in it and I just cut it shorter. It was a little tight but she’s still going strong
Crash217@reddit
A baffle/plate inside a catalytic converter was making an awful rattle at certain rpm’s.
I lived with it for a year, then one day I had to floor it to get out of the way in traffic. The subsequent downshift and jump in rpm’s and exhaust pressure made a “bang” sound in the exhaust and the tick disappeared.
Neighbor came by a few days later and mentioned “hey I can’t hear when you’re leaving for work, I guess you fixed that catalytic converter?” “Yes, yes I did Art”.
landrover97centre@reddit
Bought an overheating Subaru outback for $1000, got it home put hose water in the radiator, and sold it for 3800 a few weeks later.
neek85@reddit
Have a drip-drip-drip fuel leak, but it stops after a while.
Just don't fill up the tank all the way. Problem completely solved safely and forever.
KeeganY_SR-UVB76@reddit
Planes do that by design. Why not your car?
neek85@reddit
Toyota SR-71 LOL
KeeganY_SR-UVB76@reddit
Even the lowly Cezznuh leaks fuel. Aircraft have fuel vents which prevent the fuel tank from imploding.
Project_IGNYTE@reddit
Pulled my family's 91 Alfa Romeo Spider out of the garage bc I was gonna autocross it the next day. Shut it off and heard an unfamiliar bubbling sound. Coolant tank had a pinhole in the side of it and coolant was bubbling out of it.
Literally just ignored it.
Hasn't bubbled since, despite being run hotter and being topped up with coolant.
No, I don't know either. And yes, I believe that's my personal record for cheapest fix.
samit2heck@reddit
Pepper in the radiator got me home without overheating.
Mrwrongthinker@reddit
Next level. I'll keep that one in my back pocket.
samit2heck@reddit
Always keep a well stocked picnic basket in the boot
nobikflop@reddit
Like... stuffing it in the cap spot instead of a cap? Or using hot sauce as coolant?
samit2heck@reddit
Lol. No not hot sauce, actual pepper. A handful of pepper into the radiator with the water. Put it in the cracked radiator that was leaking and it clogs up the leak. Very very temporary solution to get a few miles more out of the car and avoid a tow.
Glittering-Show-5521@reddit
That's actually not too far off from the approach Subaru takes with their Cooling System conditioner. It contains ginger (not kidding). They recommended this stuff for every cooling system service on the old EJ25 engines that were notorious for leaking head gaskets.
samit2heck@reddit
Yeah I did this on a 60s Aussie Holden, but I've heard of it done on other older cars. A little bush mechanic trick!
nobikflop@reddit
lol so you were able to use it as a Stop-Leak/Liquid Aluminum replacement? Good to know
SAEftw@reddit
An egg or two also works.
Add pepper and you’ve got breakfast!
samit2heck@reddit
Exactly!
Steffiluren@reddit
My parents’ Toyota Aygo once switched to northern Irish BBC AM radio and refused to do anything else. I smacked the dashboard, and it worked fine ever since.
Absentmindedgenius@reddit
I came back to airport parking from a trip and noticed my brake lights were stuck on. The plastic bit on the pedal had broken off and was on the floor. I taped a penny in it's place.
TunakTun633@reddit
Started leaking fuel after 40 minutes of WOT on track. Let it sit; it stopped leaking. I took it out for 20 minutes; still no leaking.
I hypothesized that I'd overheated my fuel system, which wasn't going to happen again. So I began the 7 hour drive home. In my 35-year-old car that wouldn't shift into top gear, keeping me at a sustained 5000 rpm on the highway. No leaks. Thank God.
Saskpioneer@reddit
Got a quick pull out of a snow bank and doing so it snapped a rear trailing arm on my car. I used a ratchet strap to hold it together till I got to work. (2 kilometers) drilled a plank of wood and replaced the arm with that till the part came in. Worked beautifully for 2 weeks of daily driving.
Glittering-Show-5521@reddit
Using a paper clip to bypass a bad A/C pressure switch on a PT Cruiser, then duct tape over the top of it to help keep it in place. I did that for a friend of mine who had a young child and didn't have much money. Last I heard, it was still working 7 or 8 years later.
KarlJay001@reddit
Pulled out the fuse that was draining the battery.
Ifyouhavethemeans@reddit
High temp gasket seal and fuel line to redo a leaky carb on ‘87 Fleetwood.
Concrete_Grapes@reddit
It's been 10 years since I rebuilt the carb on my 68 dodge 318, using a mountain dew box and rtv to make a gasket for rebuilding the carb.
Still works perfectly.
steelfork@reddit
Changed the oil on my VW and took the drained oil and put it in my MG.
Front_Necessary_2@reddit
Ignition coil bolt stripped. Used a bunch of duck tape and rubber seals to leverage from the plastic engine cover to hold the ignition coils in place. It’s held for 80k miles so far.
AlwaysBagHolding@reddit
I had a 400 dollar northstar powered Cadillac that blew a power steering hose, the hose cost half what I paid for the car and looked like a massive pain in the ass to change, there was no easy way to short the belt to bypass the power steering pump, so I took the pump off, disassembled it, pulled out the vanes in the pump and reinstalled it. Essentially turned it into an oil cooled idler pulley. Since it never made pressure, it stopped pumping fluid everywhere. Ran the car like that for another year before the tag expired and I parked it in my pasture.
Concrete_Grapes@reddit
Had a 91 voyage eat a PS pump. Pulled the pump out, pulled a pulley and bracket off some junked ford ranger 3.0, I think, and it bolted in, but one rib off. Went to the parts store, and they found me a belt off a Honda that had 2 too many ribs, so, I cut them off and ran that skinny belt on there.
Without power steering, that van felt turbo charged. Absolutely nuts, and the mpg went from 26 to 35 (3.0l, in a short cargo version of the van)
Was miserable to drive though, lol.
AlwaysBagHolding@reddit
I definitely got Popeye forearms the year I drove that car with no power steering lol.
SkylineFTW97@reddit
In my old 2006 Honda Accord, the alternator was on its way out and completely failed as I was pulling into the parts authority parking lot to pick up the reman Denso altenator I ordered as a replacement. Except it was 20 minutes back to my job where I had the tools to do the repair and I wasn't about to drop $200 on a tow. Lucky for me, I had a very beefy jump box from my time doing roadside assistance and I also kept a set of jumper cables as a backup. So I ran the cables from the battery to the passenger seat where the jump box was so I could run it without the alternator working. I successfully limped it back without issue (although I did take the side roads as a precaution given how sketchy what I did was). My coworkers weren't sure if I was nuts or just really cheap, but if it works it works.
thzmand@reddit
I've done that with an extra battery when the alternator light came on at like 2am in the middle of nowhere. This was before internet on our phones, so even contacting a tow company was going to be a hassle, and it was a 2-3 hour drive back home anyway. But the next small town on our route had a Walmart within view, so we pulled in and made the decision to try our luck. We bought the biggest battery we could fit in there and some new cables just to be extra efficient, and I think we must have switched out the dying battery early in the trip but I can't actually recall for sure. We made it home though!
Radioaficionado_85@reddit
Bought a car for $250 because it didn't run. Looked at the battery, saw a receipt in the side pocket that showed it was still under warranty, took it to the parts store, they gave me a battery, and I put it in and the car started and ran fine.
Ashton-MD@reddit
It don’t matter if it’s OEM or zip ties, fixed is fixed.
michaelfkenedy@reddit
Clamped muffler flanges with a small $2 c clamp
Misery27TD@reddit
Connecting the wipers with the wiper motor via a very, very sketchy formation of zip ties. Part wasn't available, car needed to go out that day, customer has been informed and said, quote "do whatever you have to do, I dont care, attach a picture" and last time I saw it, the zip ties were still going strong.....I wish I could redo it, but they just won't die.
Professional_Mind86@reddit
Did the same thing, but with rebar tie wire. It would last for a month or two, then break and I'd do it again
texasconnection@reddit
I drive a company truck and the fittings on the hose going to the heater core broke and leaked all the antifreeze. I called my boss to let him know I was stranded and I needed a tow. He said it would be a few hours I was like let me call you back.
I cut off the broken fitting, walked to a gas station that thankfully sold hose clamps, and antifreeze and and reconnected the hose with the clamps refilled the antifreeze, and I was able to drive back to the shop
. I than took the truck to the mechanic and he said the hose was fine the way it was. I have been driving the truck now for 7 months with no issues.
David_Shagzz@reddit
Tailgate logo fell off my 2008 ranger. Noticed it after we were walking the machinery back to where we parked earlier that morning after work. Jesus has a sense of humor because there was a perfect chrome Honda logo sitting right under the rear bumper. I tossed the ford logo in the bed, and super glued the Honda logo. Right over the dusted covered dry rotted left over adhesive.
Gang-Control@reddit
96 ranger throttle cable had some slack in it, popped 3 zip ties on and boom it’s like new
roger_ramjett@reddit
Vicegrips holding the ground strap to the engine. Was like that for 3 years until I scrapped the car. Got the vicegrips back before the wrecker picked up the car.
Concrete_Grapes@reddit
I vice-grip the 4*4 actuator in my old s-10 every winter. Lol. Why fix, when it's now just manual, with an extra step? Ho hum.
Concrete_Grapes@reddit
Ok, so, this ... is bad. Whatever.
The pinion in my s-10 was shot. Bearings, shaft, all of it. It's a 4:10 gear in a weird year, and I couldnt get one in a wrecking yard, and I by God wasn't going to pay to have it done, and I wasnt going to buy the, at the time, 600+ dollars in tools to do it right.
So, I thought--this shit needs something.
And, while rummaging around in the garage, I found an old, unknown to me (had other people's shit from decades ago), engine harmonic balancer, and it had holes that looked like it would line up with the universal joint holes. Hmm.
So, went out, took it apart, and, sure as shit, went right in.
Figured, "well, what's the worst that can happen, it gets MORE broken? Send it."
20 years later, 60k+ miles, that thing is still there, still smooth as hell. Never fixed the pinion. It just auto-magic balance now once you get above 10mph, lol.
Relevant-Ad9495@reddit
Zip tied my cruise control cable to the TB after the slot it was supposed to go in melted. Worked for a year then we got stuck at WOT in traffic, which was fun. Dump clutch, wait till we catch up, turn off car, repeat. Lol sketchy
Various-Catch-113@reddit
Not a car, but a motorcycle. I had a bike that had special rubber vibration dampers on each side of the inner part of the rear fender. They were held by pressure and fit over nippkes on each side of the fender. I lost one. So I went to AutoZone, bought the same diameter radiator hose and city new ones. They worked perfectly and cost two bucks instead of the $15 for the Yamaha parts.
Quick_Lavishness_689@reddit
Took it to the mechanic
nutsboltsandscrews@reddit
I’m ashamed to admit this, but I had a customer who owns a 2001 Silverado, and his HVAC mix door was stuck on defrost. Turned out it was because the foam seals had disintegrated, and the door went past maximum distance for floor heat, and reverted back to defrost. I put a pair of needle nose vice grips on the bottom stop for the mix door so that the actuator wouldn’t travel as far, and it worked perfectly. We charged him $200 for the “fix”. It’s still working after 5 years.
NoLie129@reddit
Pantyhose as alternator belt
Car_loapher@reddit
1997 Nissan Altima didn’t start unless you smacked the shifter
palmoyas@reddit
Dumping AT-205 into the oil to fix a rear main seal leak. So far so good after a year.
Old_Assist_5461@reddit
Fixed clutch linkage with a coat hanger. Stranded in the desert in Baja and clutch completely died. I was only 16 but one look and the problem was clear. Worked so well drove that thing for a long time with the hanger-linkage.
Recent_Permit2653@reddit
Horn ring was bent, car would honk when turning. I shimmed the horn pad out with some of those thin Lego strips. Problem solved!
gunzby2@reddit
Had a Mitsubishi Montero that was stalling out. Took the IAC out, cleaned it with a paper towel and Windex and viola, good to go
Extra_Engineering996@reddit
Not lazy as much as I don't want to take my steering colum apart. I have a parasitic draw somewhere, and we traced it to the steering colum. 65 El Camino
I put a shutoff/kill switch on my battery.
Will I eventually get it fixed? Probably. Does it bother me to have to do this? Not really.
born_zynner@reddit (OP)
Someone needs to make an automatic shutoff for these old cars. Current draw under a few mA? Shut er off
Extra_Engineering996@reddit
I've been lucky really. The truck is in really good shape, and I didn't have much information on it when I bought it. I did have the 350 rebuilt last year, and I'd love to get a T350 transmission, as it has the original power glide. But she's a kick in the ass to drive!
RVABMWguy@reddit
When the ICV shit the bed on my e30 with the ETA motor it would do this crazy high revving and stumbled on acceleration. I put a clamp on the hose feeding into it to starve it of air, and it idled fine again and didn’t sputter on acceleration for many thousands of miles until it went to scrap.
No-Understanding-912@reddit
Duct tape
dadlife4521@reddit
Tail light out. Punch tail light. Light comes on. “There that’s better.”
No-Comfortable9480@reddit
Did that for about a year
Any_Honeydew9812@reddit
Shimming my AC clutch with metal wire to get it to engage .. a/c has been working fine the last 5 years with this 'fix' lol
ClockWorkWinds@reddit
Love the satisfaction of some clunky mechanical noise correcting itself after a few smacks to the dash and a handful of stern words.
(This barely counts. Just had some foliage in my cabin air filter lol)
Own-Appearance-824@reddit
I was downloading my car from a car transporter. Ripped the front bumper off. Zip tied that thing back on. Drove it for years that way.
BookFew9009@reddit
Not mine but had a 292 ford v8 truck. One of the bolts broke in an ear on the housing for the water pump . A one inch c-clamp was subbed and it worked 4 years , no issues except for a tweak to tighten if it looked wet around it . Did the timing chain ( that was an adventure) and removed broken bolt . C clamp hung from my mirror until I scrapped it .
beaushaw@reddit
In high school I drove a Plymouth Horizon. One day on the way home the gear shift just went lose and didn't control the transmission any more.
I looked under the car and I could see where the ball on the end of the gear shift popped out of of a plastic joint that had broken. I stuck it together and wrapped it in some duct tape to get home. I drove it for a few years like that then we sold it. Never did fix it properly.
ten10thsdriver@reddit
Shift interlock solenoid failed on my mom's Ford Escort. Zip tied the lock lever out of the way under the center console trim.
Ford didn't sell the solenoid separate and wanted like $450 for the entire shifter assembly and it would have been a pain to install.
SuchBoysenberry140@reddit
Bolts were broken holding the exhaust pipe to the exhaust manifold on an old Expedition.
I put vice grips on it and sent it. Didn't even leak.
Harrymcmarry@reddit
Zipties do wonders to sagging bumpers
PrimitiveThoughts@reddit
Positive terminal kept falling off whenever my car went over anything bumpy.
A screw fixed that.
AdEastern9303@reddit
83 Buick Regal. Was on a 4 hour trip at night. Was in the middle of nowhere when the accelerator cable snapped at the gas pedal. Had to report for duty the next morning so could not mess with a tow and a proper repair. Robbed some speaker wire from under the dash and tied the cable to the pedal with it. Drove it like that for 6 months until I got rid of the car with it still in place.
No_Difference8518@reddit
A bolt from the bed of the truck rotted out. I tied the corner down with a rope hoping it would last a while. It lasted over a year till I sold the truck.
ProStockJohnX@reddit
Blew a head gasket racing, so I borrowed a car and bought 5 gallons of water and just topped off the radiator for the 1.5 hour drive home. Would have been a $500 tow.
LongjumpingRespect96@reddit
1986 Camry we were planning to sell soon. AC pulley went out. Bought a belt for the engine spec’s without AC. AC pulley still ran into the path of the new belt. Don’t know how I figured it out, but used a bicycle tool (square taper crank puller) to remove the pulley, the tool worked perfectly.
RelevantMarket8771@reddit
Gorilla glue on a loose bumper clip on my old Camry. Surprisingly, it lasted for a year or so before getting loose again from road vibrations.
AbruptMango@reddit
I had a headlight socket die. I found 3 wires in my junk drawer and ran them over from the other headlight.
born_zynner@reddit (OP)
My wife was complaining about a ticking noise from the dash in her 2015 Jeep Patriot. It was the actuator that switches fresh/recycled air. This thing is kinda buried and the screws are in a spot where you need a really skinny ratchet with a shorty Phillips head. It was gonna take me like an hour to get the thing out. I ended up just unplugging it lol.
I only told her after we traded the thing in